Of Chocolate and Silver
by Asperger songbird
Summary: Feeling homesick for Madagascar, King Julien decides to return to Madagascar along with his lemurs, the penguins, and Marlene. However, what was supposed to be nice vacation quickly takes a turn when numerous secrets from the past and present come to light. Especially where Marlene is involved...
1. Chapter 1

_Ok, so this is my very first fan fiction story, so I'm anxious to find out if this will turn out to be a good story or not. I actually contemplated this story idea a few years back before I even knew about fan fiction! Now I know what some fans will think of the angle I've taken, but I hope you readers will at least give it a chance. (You never know!)_

Of Chocolate and Silver

Chapter 1: Homesickness

It all started on a perfectly ordinary day at the zoo, except it wasn't ordinary at all. That's because at the Central Park Zoo in New York City: four penguins, and four mammals were about to leave the zoo that week. But why? Why would any animal want to leave such a big, civilized, seemingly perfect place? Well it all started with a certain ring-tailed lemur king…

On a beautiful, sunny day in late July, numerous humans filed their way through the many habitats to watch their occupants. In the penguin habitat, three of the monochromatic birds were pulling off their adorable cute-and-cuddly hijinks as a distraction, while Kowalski attempted to intercept an I-phone from a business woman. In the otter habitat, Marlene was giving a swimming performance to some little girls; combining various advanced dives and water ballet.

Finally at the lemur habitat, the three resident party mammals were showing off their dance moves to some teens that had been extremely bored just two minutes ago. Overall, everything and everyone seemed normal. That's what Maurice, King Julien's long-suffering right hand was thinking, until he actually looked at his boss. Normally when it came to dancing, Julien would pull out all the stops and out dance Maurice and Mort any day. Today however, Mort was actually dancing faster! Instead of his usual crazy moves, King Julien seemed distracted and not as "in" to the music as he usually was. In fact, he looked kinda sad. After the teens had applauded the performance and saved it to their phones, Maurice decided that now he could talk.

Julien had seated himself at his smoothie bar, while punting Mort over the habitat wall, but even that action seemed weak as he still stared off into nowhere. "Hey Julien," Maurice began as he carefully chose his next words, "are you feeling alright? Cause I noticed that even Mort was beating you at fast dancing."

At first Julien stiffened slightly at the mention of being beaten by Mort, but finally he sighed and quietly replied: "Maurice, this City of the New York is a fantastical place. But I am believing that I am missing my lemur kingdom."

"ALRIGHT!"

Both lemurs jumped at the sudden shout from behind. Turning around with their fur on end, they saw Skipper and his team (with Rico holding Mort by the tail) standing on the wall.

Skipper, Kowalski and Rico were wearing huge grins (with Rico's being the creepiest) while Private looked rather down. "We were just going about our normal rounds when we heard the news," said Skipper (who still looked like Christmas had come early). "So you're seriously going back to the hippie land?"

"What Hippie Land?!" came the sudden shout of Marlene, who had been passing by the wall on her way to visit with the birds.

"Ring-tail here has finally become sick of zoo life!" exclaimed Skipper, causing a very annoyed Julien to shout back, "I am not being sick of the zoo life. I am just missing my kingdom in the Madagascar."

"Madagascar… You mean in the wild?" asked Marlene as she leaped over the wall onto the habitat grass.

"Since when did you become interested in the jungle?" asked Private.

"Well ever since I stopped going feral, I've been thinking about what it would be like to actually experience a truly wild area," explained Marlene as she walked closer to the lemurs.

"Skipper?" said Private timidly raising a flipper.

"What is it Private?" asked Skipper looking rather annoyed that Marlene wanted to go to hippie land.

"Well, you said that we could choose are upcoming vacation spot, and I know you really wanted to go to Japan with Kowalski…."

"Are you saying we should join the lemurs for our vacation?!" shouted Skipper as a shocked Rico dropped a still smiling Mort to the ground.

"I confess Skipper," piped up Kowalski randomly scribbling on a note pad, "I've been wanting to do some research on the island for my…"

"Research?" interrupted the Skipper, "You mean gather poisons and voodoo leaves for your mad science?"

"For your information, certain native plants and venoms have surprisingly potent…"

"Okay I think we've got the point!" interjected Marlene as she came between the boss and the brain.

"Fine, but after we spend a few days with the lemurs, then we go to Japan."

"Ka-Boom!" screamed Rico as he thought of setting some exploding traps for the lemurs (Julien in particular).

"Well I guess I better go make the announcement," said Maurice as he made his way to the other habitats.

"I Like Announcements!"

_Hope you enjoyed the first chapter and please review if you feel like it (but flames are ABSOLUTELY forbidden)._


	2. Chapter 2: Plans, packing, and goodbyes

_I'm so excited that I got four reviews already! I just found out yesterday that I'm supposed to double space my _

_paragraphs (no wonder everything looked crowded -_-). I also forgot to mention this in the last chapter, but I do not _

_own the Penguins of Madagascar or Madagascar the movie; those are the properties of DreamWorks and Nickelodeon _

_(otherwise this would be a movie). _

* * *

><p>Chapter 2: Plans, packing and goodbyes<p>

That night Maurice made the announcement about the departure, and there were numerous mixed emotions. Many of

the zoo residents were sad to hear about the penguins going away, and Becky and Stacy were emotionally voicing their

feelings about their cousin going off to some dangerous place. Only the chameleons and Eggy seemed sad about the

lemurs leaving. The chameleons wouldn't have Julien around to tell them about Madagascar and Eggy wouldn't have his

dance teacher. Despite the smiles and laughs he gave to them, you could tell that the happiness wasn't completely real.

Even Maurice was getting more attention than him.

For the next few days the penguins got to work on how exactly they were going to leave New York. Private suggested

they take the ship again.

"I mean, it is how we got to Madagascar last time." Said the private as Rico kept interrupting him with plane imitations.

"No we are not taking a ship back, and NO Rico we are not taking a plane again either!" yelled Skipper as he finally shut up the crazy bird.

"Ba boo ba boo bam…" muttered Rico darkly as he went to vent his feelings on an attack dummy.

Kowalski during this meeting had said nothing as he concentrated on his notepad. Finally, after fifteen minutes he spoke, "I think I have a plan!"

The rest of the week the zoo animals barely saw the penguins, as they were putting their escape plan into action.

Kowalski was in the garage with Rico and sounds of hammering, buzzing, and tools being upchucked could be heard if

you were to walk past.

Skipper and Private made a normal supply check on food, and a double supply check on weapons and combat gear.

"I still can't believe I have to spend the first part of my vacation with Ring-tail," complained Skipper as he looked over a notepad, "cause with him back at his party central there'll be a party every other hour."

"Well I can't believe we're taking all these weapons," replied Private as he passed a grenade, "I know we had problems with the fossa last time, but maybe this vacation will be different."

As much as Skipper wanted to give Private another lecture on never being too suspicious, he suddenly remembered the Buck Rockgut incident and just said, "Trust me Private, I'll start relaxing when I'm eating sushi and reading manga."

* * *

><p>"No, No, No the left Mort, the left!" shouted Julien as he attempted to relay directions to Mort, who was trying to carry the now deflated bouncy over to a suitcase.<p>

"Your left or mine?" asked the mouse lemur as he could not see over the mountain of rubber he was carrying.

"Mine of course silly lemur, how many times must I lecture you about how all the directionals are mine?!"

"You know your majesty," piped up Maurice who was packing his own fairly small case, "we're already taking three

habitats of supplies total, and your kingdom is fine without a bouncy."

"But it has my most noble face…" started the crestfallen king until he noticed Maurice picking up a scroll that had been found in one of the bar drawers.

"AHH do not be reading that!" exclaimed the king as he suddenly snatched the scroll from Maurice.

"Read what your majesty?" asked the aye-aye as he eyed the scroll suspiciously, "You didn't take that from the penguins did you?"

"No Maurice it is my personal paper thingy that you will not read!"

"Let me see it Julien…"

"No!"

"Fine, then I guess I should just tell the penguins to cancel…" "Alright Maurice you win!" yelled Julien as he reluctantly

handed the unrolled scroll to his adviser.

Maurice took the scroll carefully and realized that it was full of paper. After quickly scanning his eyes over them, his eyes widened slightly and he looked up in confusion, "I thought you two…"

"Yes Maurice I will be discussing this later," interrupted Julien as he grabbed the papers back and tied them up again as Mort finally collapsed from holding up the bouncy.

Meanwhile in the otter habitat, Marlene was doing her own packing and gazing wistfully at her wall paintings. She had

painted them the day after she first moved to New York, and even though she was just going on vacation, the otter had

a feeling that she might not see these pictures again.

"I can't believe I'm finally going to a jungle," Marlene thought as she packed away her guitar, "I just wish _they_ were

here right now," she added in a sad tone. She was soon snapped out of her thoughts by the manhole opening and

Private's face poking out. "It's time Marlene."

* * *

><p>On the fourth day since the vacation announcement, all the zoo animals gathered at the front of the zoo gates to pay<p>

their last farewells to the departing creatures. The bell rang out five o'clock as Skipper made his way in front to speak.

"Gentlemen…and ladies," started Skipper after receiving a look from the few female members around him, "the time is o' five hundred hours and we will be departing in exactly one. For the past few days my boys and I have been working on this plan on very little sleep and a whole lotta caffeine," at this point Rico upchucks an energy drink to give to the

others, "and we now have a plan. Last night Kowalski sent an email to Alice requesting the temporary transfer of four

penguins, three lemurs, and an otter for research purposes. At o' six hundred the delivery truck will come to transport

us to the docks where our transport awaits. Also despite the fact that this is only a vacation, we will still OOF!"

"We will still be missing all you silly peoples!" shouted Julien as he rudely elbowed Skipper away. "And I, your beloved

king will be having Maurice write letters to you since I will busy with the partying," this really made Maurice happy!

Only a few animals clapped at this and Julien looked rather disappointed before Skipper finally pushed his way to the

front again.

"Thank you Ring-tail that was inspiring, now, we just want to say so long and we look forward to seeing you again!"

finished Skipper as he saluted to loud applause.

Marlene didn't make a speech, but she did say her goodbyes to the other zoo animals (especially her badger cousins).

"You write to us every day now," said Becky tearfully as she hugged Marlene, "Or at least every three days," replied

Stacy as she did the same as Becky.

"Hey now what's with the tears?" asked Marlene playfully, "you all act like I'm going to Madagascar permanently!"

* * *

><p><em>Ahh, poor Julien! First off I just want to thank all the people who reviewed my last chapter, and I really look forward to <em>

_hearing your comments for this one. I'm glad I'm keeping everyone in character, but please let me know if anything's _

_wrong. Thanks and have a good Sunday! _


	3. Chapter 3: Onward and downward

_Again, a big thank you to all my reviewers (I still find it strange to actually see my work out online). This is the journey to Madagascar chapter you've all been craving, so I hope you enjoy it. Again, I do not own the Penguins of Madagascar, Madagascar the movie, or the song Orinoco Flow (by Enya). _

* * *

><p>Chapter 3: Onward and downward<p>

That day, at exactly o' six hundred hours, Alice and a few delivery guys came to transport the eight travelers. Marlene was feeling a little nervous about being stuck in a crate through most of the journey. She had to practice the calming exercises she taught herself, so that her feral side wouldn't emerge upon leaving the zoo walls. Julien wasn't too happy about the cramped conditions either, although Mort and Maurice were the ones who were actually getting squished from Julien stretching all over the place. The penguins more or less didn't mind (Skipper could tell you plenty of stories about being stuck in worse situations).

As Alice drove the truck to the docks, she couldn't help but have a strange feeling come over her about the animals. Of course, she had always been very suspicious with the penguins, but this feeling was different. "Ah great," she sighed as she caught herself thinking about the birds, "I'm already starting to miss them!"

Finally, Alice made it to the docks and waited. During the drive Marlene had fallen asleep, but woke up when she heard Alice talking. Looking out of a hole she had discovered in the crate she saw Alice wheeling three crates in the back of the truck and talking about replacements.

"Hmm, how strange," thought Marlene as she watched the crates get loaded in, "I didn't know we would get replacements."

After closing the back of the truck Alice walked back to where the eight were, and looked around carefully before speaking. "Ok, I have no idea why I'm even doing this but, uh, please stay out of trouble," she said quietly before adding sternly, "or else the fault will go to me!"

For the next ten seconds after Alice left, there was not a sound to be heard from the crates.

"Annnnnd, BREAK!" came a shout from Skipper as the top crate exploded into smithereens; revealing Skipper, Private and Kowalski in karate poses, with Rico carrying Miss Perky.

"Good job boys, the first part of the mission is accomplished and now…"

"And now you will be releasing a very trappded king!"

"I don't like cramped conditions!"

"Alright, alright we're coming," came Skipper's reply as Rico upchucked a crow bar.

It was a good thing they hadn't waited another second, because Marlene had literally been that close to letting her wild side loose. "Thanks," she told the penguins gratefully after she was released, "I really need to get a hold on this stress if I'm going to survive the jungle."

"Ah do not be worrying Marlene," said Julien as his lemur friends gasped for air on the ground behind him, "we will be dancing so much in my kingdom there shall be no time for the stressing!"

"Speaking of which," came Kowalski as Rico upchucked a remote into his flippers, "I think we are ready to launch," and with a push of the big red button in the middle, a small beeping noise could be heard in a crate some men were about to load onto the ship.

Thinking it was a bomb, the men promptly screamed before running away and dropping the crate into the sea. A second later, a magnificent sight emerged from the waters. "My Julien II!" shouted the lemur as he beheld the penguin's sub, and what it had now become.

The front of the submarine was the same size as the one they had used to defeat the snakehead, except it now had two extra pods in the back that were twice the size of the front. Not only that, but the sub was now colored green, silver and yellow.

"It's so….wow!" said Marlene quietly as she gazed upon the vessel.

"Yes, yes I know she's a beauty but we are kind of on a schedule," reminded Skipper as he started to climb aboard.

"Hey wait, do you know what Alice meant when she said we were being replaced?" asked Marlene as she suddenly thought back to the crates in the truck.

"Oh I sent her an email from an African research facility," replied Kowalski, "but I also sent an email to Hoboken saying that a few of their residents were going to be transferred as our replacements."

"But won't the researchers get suspicious if we don't show up?" asked Maurice.

"Oh we never told them what kind of animals were going to be transferred," said Skipper, "so we're in the clear."

* * *

><p>After a quick tour of the front, the penguins directed the lemurs and Marlene to the pods in the back. "I upgraded the sub by adding rooms to the back for traveling guests," explained Kowalski as he pointed out two doors, "Marlene will get the room on the right, and the lemurs will get the room on the left."<p>

"Hey wait," shouted Julien, "why is the king not to be getting his own space?"

"Because as a girl Marlene might want more privacy."

"But we can always visit each other," smiled Private.

"Thanks guys," said Marlene as she walked towards her door, "but where will you sleep?"

"Oh we'll be navigating most of the time, but we also brought sleeping bags for when we change shifts," said Skipper as he filed the other birds out, "Well time to dive!" and with that the four mammals went to check out the rooms. The basic design was the same: on the left and right were five bunks with a pillow and blanket each, and a small bathroom at the end. Their suitcases had already been brought in, so the four of them had nothing left to do but sit and cling as the sub lurched into motion.

The rest of the day was rather uneventful as the eight travelers adjusted to the new environment. Julien had complained rather loudly about the minimalist conditions, but then he was reminded that they would reach Madagascar in a day or two and promptly shut up (at least until he unpacked his stereo). Marlene had walked about the submarine a bit; mostly looking out the windows to see fish and seaweed brush past. She still thought it was amazing that she could experience the outdoors without going wild! She so wished she could swim out into the ocean right now, but she and the lemurs had been warned about the dangers of the sea, so she was content to just watch and wait.

Aside from eating whatever they had brought for food, the groups spent their times apart until evening. Skipper had dropped by to check living conditions and yell at Julien to turn off the "noise". Kowalski had stopped by to say that all the electronics were up and running and that there shouldn't be any problems. Private had stopped to tell Marlene good night, and Rico had even been kind enough to let Miss Perky stay with her. Even though Marlene would have preferred someone who could actually talk back, she thanked Rico anyway, earning a not-so-psychotic smile from the bird. Overall, it was a good start to a grand adventure.

* * *

><p>The next morning Marlene awoke from the three pillows she had lain on the floor (she had found the bunk uncomfortable), and noticed something different. She had looked out the window expecting to see more fish or even a whale eye, but today she saw light. Excitedly, she brushed her fur, grabbed her guitar and Miss Perky and opened the door. After propping Miss Perky up against the door to the front pod and checking that the penguins were either busy or asleep, Marlene then went to check on the lemurs. Peeking in, she saw that Julien had also spread pillows and blankets on the ground (although Mort and Maurice were only allowed one of each item). Marlene rolled her eyes at this and at Julien sprawled out on his pile. Hopefully, they'll be asleep for another hour. Now she could put her plan into action!<p>

Opening the top hatch, Marlene climbed up to see that the top of the sub was above water and surrounded by protective railing. She smiled as she watched the beautiful sunrise in front of her and also took note of the rolling waves beneath her. Sitting on the ground, the otter tuned her guitar and quietly began to start a song:

_Let me sail, let me sail, let the Orinoco flow, _

_Let me reach, let me beach, on the shores of Tripoli. _

_Let me sail, let me sail, let me crash upon your shore, _

_Let me reach, let me beach, far beyond the Yellow Sea. _

She had started on a quiet note so she wouldn't attract attention, but after getting to the _Sail away _part of the song, Marlene couldn't help raising the volume a bit. What she didn't notice was that she had an audience.

Julien had been fast asleep on his pile dreaming about being welcomed by his fellow Madagascarians, when he heard music. Being a lemur, Julien had very good hearing and he instantly realized whose voice was singing. He knew it wasn't Mort's voice, since Mort's was annoying (along with every other part of him). Following the guitar playing, the lemur king put his crown on and left to find the hatch (making sure not to alert his subjects or the penguins).

Marlene at this point had reached the final lines of her song, and she stood up playing and singing without any care. The song becoming especially exciting when the sub crashed into a rather large wave.

_Sail away, sail away, sail away, _

_Sail away, sail away, SAIL AWAY! _

The Asian otter jumped slightly when she heard clapping and whirled around to see Julien leaning on the railing and applauding.

"Bravo Marlene, Bravo! Now play me another."

"Julien?!" exclaimed Marlene as she carefully propped her guitar, "I didn't think you'd wake up till noon!"

"And I was not knowing you were an expert in the guitaring."

"Well I don't play very often, and I really didn't want to wake you, and," the otter blabbed on until Julien held up a finger to silence her.

"Personally I prefer the singing of you to the speaking of Mort any day."

Marlene was rather shocked by his words, especially given how he just gave her a rare comment. But before she could reply, the hatch opened and Private's face popped up.

"Oh, there you are," he chirped happily, "Skipper wanted me to tell you that everyone should be inside since we'll be in Madagascar by 3 o' clock."

"Hooray! Now if you will be excusing me, I will be waking my subjects for the eating. MORT…"

As the penguins did their duties upfront, the lemurs and Marlene got their bags repacked and waited. At exactly 3 o' clock, Skipper's voice could be heard through the intercom. "Attention passengers this is your captain speaking. If you look out your windows to the east, you will notice that the island is straight ahead. Just keep your luggage on hand, stay in your rooms, and NO DON'T!" a sudden blast could be heard as all of the submarine weapons were launched. "RINGTAIL! Anyway, just please stick together and hopefully we'll reach the island in one piece. Thank you."

Looking out said window, Marlene couldn't believe her eyes. Up ahead she could see a sandy beach covered with green palm trees, and surrounded by crystal blue water with not a building or human thing in sight. Taking a deep breath, Marlene grabbed her bags as she heard Julien dancing through the hall, singing about being back home.

* * *

><p><em>For the record, I prefer the Celtic Woman version of the song (although Enya's is rather interesting). I know you all are anxious to find out what happens in Madagascar, but as a college student I can't spend all my time on my laptop for fun. So don't have a riot if I don't update after every couple days. Anyway, hope your day is going well and please review. <em>


	4. Chapter 4: Welcome Home

_Hey everybody! I'm really sorry for the wait, but you know how school can be. Well, our animal friends have finally arrived and things are about to get more interesting… _

* * *

><p>Chapter 4: Welcome home<p>

After finally reaching the shore, the penguins popped the hatch just in time for Julien to jump out and dance around in circles (followed quietly by Mort). Marlene jumped onto the sand and looked around at her new environment. It was warm, but not just because it was summer. It was the kind of warmth she had missed when she left California. Plopping on her back in the sand, she took a moment just to enjoy herself before being called to attention by Skipper.

"Alright troops, I'm glad to see we all made it in one piece, but don't think the trouble is over just because we're on vacation. So if you see two bright shiny objects glowing in a bush, be very afraid."

"But I like bright shiny things!"

"No one was to be asking you Mort!" screamed Julien as he gave a Fifa worthy kick to Mort. The fur ball sailed through the air with a "WHEEE!" before landing in a bush that gave an "OOF!" Out of said bush crawled a brown lemur with a whitish face and bright, blue eyes. He also seemed to be carrying a spear.

"King Julien?" asked the lemur as he noticed the strange group in front of him.

"Yes I am to be King Julien," replied said lemur as he stood up at full height (which was only an inch taller than the brown lemur if you didn't count the crown), "and you are…"

"Lucas sir, your captain of the guard."

"Ah Lukey, now I am remembering!" shouted Julien with joy, "Why are you out here when you are to be having fun with Stevie?"

"Well sir….uh, well we've had some problems," said Lucas looking nervous.

"What problems?" asked the king as his happy expression dropped. At this Lucas hurriedly whispered something to Julien. Whatever it was, it put a brief look of horror on the usually happy party animal.

"What's up Julien?" asked Maurice noticing the look.

Remembering the other animals Julien pasted a smile on his face and said, "It is nothing to be worrying about Maurice. Now come and welcome me home!" Skipper was about to demand an explanation when Maurice quickly whispered, "I'll find out later."

* * *

><p>Although Marlene had been worried about the nervous looking Lucas, her worries started to disappear as he led the group through the trees. The huge leaves made the path darker and she was reminded of the reptile house incident with the chameleons. She also noticed lots of colorful flowers and strange fruit growing in different spots. After what felt like an hour (but was only twenty minutes), Lucas finally stopped before a thick curtain of leaves in the path and turned around.<p>

"Maurice will go on a head and make the announcement, while the rest of you wait here and, wait who is she?" asked the guard as he finally noticed the groups' sole female.

"I'm Marlene," said the otter in a friendly voice, "and I'm vacationing with these guys."

"Welcome," said Lucas giving a slight nod before motioning to Maurice.

A minute after passing through the leaves, a strange horn could be heard resounding through the trees and Maurice's voice spoke up: "Presenting your royal highness, King Julien XIII; Lord of the Ringtails, Leader of Lemurs, Master of mambo, etc., and his guests!"

"Gee, humble guy," thought Marlene as Julien suddenly jumped from behind to pose for his subjects. Despite the loud applause, Julien was shocked by what he saw! The lemurs each carried some sort of weapon (mostly spears) and even the children were armed. The platform where many a speech and party had been held looked like it hadn't been used for ages, and despite the huge crowd, Julien thought that there seemed to be less lemurs than before. The lemurs looked relieved to see him again, but there were also a few who looked rather angry.

"Hello my loyal subjects," shouted Julien as he attempted to excite the crowd, "I am happy to see that you have come to welcome me home." The crowd didn't look quite as enthusiastic as before, in fact, most of them looked nervous.

"I would also like you to be meeting my guests," said Julien as he gestured behind him, "you all remember the silly birds," at this the crowd gave another loud cheer as Skipper did a face palm. "I would also like to be welcoming a new member," he said as he motioned Marlene to the front, "introducing: Marlene the otter from the land of California!" at this there was some polite applause as Marlene gave a small wave. "Now your king is very tired from the traveling, but I will be speaking to you of another great announcement tomorrow noon," after that the king had Maurice blow the strange horn (which turned out to be a shell) and walked away to not-quite-so-loud applause.

* * *

><p>"Alright Ringtail you better talk now and you better talk quick!" commanded Skipper after Lucas ushered the newcomers into a cave that acted as a private room. "I know your keeping something from us and we wanna know why!" Although Julien wanted to deny everything that had taken place earlier, he noticed the serious look on both Skipper and Maurice and explained.<p>

"Lucas was to be telling me that the fossa have come back," at this a gasp arose from nearly everyone present, "but they have aligned themselves with…them!"

"What them?" asked a trembling Private as Kowalski scribbled away on his notepad.

"Julien's kingdom is not the only one on Madagascar," explained Maurice, "there is another kingdom around where the fossa live, but we never have contact with them for…certain reasons."

Before anyone could ask another question, Julien suddenly exclaimed, "But I will be helping my kingdom with a celebration!" to which numerous replies emerged. Skipper did another face palm. Private looked rather excited. Kowalski looked up from his notes to roll his eyes. Rico vomited up some dynamite to use as confetti. Mort was staring fondly at Julien's feet. Maurice looked kind of bored, and Marlene (while she also rolled her eyes) smiled a bit.

"Sweet golden oats you can't be serious!" shouted Skipper incredulously, "don't tell me this is how you solve all your problem!" Suddenly the group heard a knock from outside the cave and turned to see another lemur. This one was female with dark gray fur, a whitish face, and blue eyes; exactly like Lucas. She was standing outside in a shy manner and holding a gecko.

"STEVIE!" screamed Julien with joy as he rushed to grab his pet. He hardly took notice of the girl lemur, but she did glare at him from behind his back. She left just as quickly as she came, and Marlene couldn't help but feel upset about Julien ignoring her.

"So who was that?" asked Marlene in a rather calm tone as Julien stroked his gecko.

"Oh that was just Lily," replied Julien casually as Marlene raised her eyebrows.

"Just Lily huh?" she asked in a serious tone. This made Julien slightly uncomfortable.

"Well, she is to be Lucas' sister and," "And you didn't even think to introduce her," said Marlene in a cold voice that made the other animals back up.

"I do not know why you are so concern-ed," said Julien looking slightly uncomfortable, "she is only a servant."

"But you were still friendly to Lucas!" shouted a now angry Marlene.

"He is the captain of my guards!"

"But she gave you your pet and you didn't even thank her!" at this Julien suddenly looked upset.

"Well if you are to be knowing better about the handling of the servants, maybe you should take my place!" At this everyone gasped and Marlene suddenly looked taken aback. "Julien?"

Suddenly, Julien grew quiet as an idea suddenly popped into his head. "I have a plan," he said as a strange smile crosses his features.

"My announcement for tomorrow was to be a musical competition with me being the winner, but now I am to be changing that. Instead, the competition will be between you and me."

"Wait, you're doing WHAT now?!" asked a confused Marlene.

"In two days we will be singing and dancing before my entire kingdom," explained Julien as his eyes widened in excitement, "in order to be winning, you must prove that you are equal or better than me in the realm of the musics. My lemurs will decide if you are worthy. If you are to be equal or better, I will be treating you as a guest of the royals and you can be deciding on the handling of the servants. But if you lose, you must shout in front of ALL the kingdom, that Julien is the most awesomest musical mammal in the world, and stay as my servant for a week."

Everyone had different measures of shock on their faces and Marlene looked rather nervous. Even though she had been an Internet popularity performance winner, she still wasn't used to performing in front of people, especially against the all-famous party king. However, it would be interesting to beat him. So after taking a breath she gave her answer.

"Okay Julien, I'll play along. But I have another condition," she said eyeing him carefully, "if I manage to beat or tie with you, then YOU must say that I am the best, AND you must be nice to this Lily girl for a week, deal?" she asks sticking out a paw.

Julien was surprised by her confident tone, and he wasn't too fond of her condition. But for once he decided to play along; it wasn't like she would really beat him. "Deal!"

And with that the two mammals shook paws, not knowing what part this contest would play in their lives.

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><p><em>Wow, it's strange having a scene play out in your head and then try to write it down. Anyway, hopefully I'll be able to update more often, but I hope you're still keeping up with the story. Have a good day! <em>


	5. Chapter 5: The Competition

_Hey everybody, how's fall? Here in the Midwest it's beautiful! As said before, I do have a life off the Internet, but hopefully next time I won't wait so long to update. This is the music contest chapter you've been waiting for, and I personally had fun listening to different songs and letting my imagination run wild. Good time is owned by Owl City (with Carly Rae Jepsen)._

Chapter 5: The Competition

The next morning the lemur kingdom was abuzz with excitement. Never had anyone been willing to go up against the party king, especially not a foreigner! Skipper had outwardly taken little interest in the competition saying, "I'll go just to do security checks, but nothing else," (although he was secretly betting on Marlene along with his team). Since Marlene wasn't allowed to see where Julien lived (something about "royal privileges"), she had decided to stay in the sub until after the competition. She was still figuring out her routine, when Maurice just HAD to announce that she was supposed to have a costume.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me," groaned Marlene as she rubbed her face with a paw, "how does he expect me to come up with a costume by tomorrow?"

"Hey don't blame me," said Maurice putting his own paws up defensively, "I just deliver."

While she had been worrying about the competition, Marlene had almost missed seeing Lily standing behind her. "Hi," she said in a quiet voice that sounded like a younger female version of Maurice, "You're Marlene right?"

"Why yes," replied Marlene as she turned to smile at her, "What brings you to the sub?"

"Well I heard that the king was needing someone to make costumes, and since I already have his costume design, well…." she paused for a moment before continuing, "I was wondering if you needed someone to help with yours."

"Oh Lily you are a life saver!" shouted Marlene now getting excited and making Lily smile, "but are you sure that you can finish it by tomorrow night?" she asked as Lily drew out a leaf-covered notebook she had wrapped in her tail.

"Don't worry about that," said Lily as she led Marlene over to some trees, "just tell me what you want it to look like!"

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><p>The penguins saw little of Marlene after she was led away by Lily. They ended up at a bamboo tree house on the outskirts of the kingdom. It was small since only she and Lucas lived there, but Lily had filled it with numerous personal treasures. One of these treasures was a box of human fashion magazines.<p>

"It was in a bag that washed up on the shore a year or two ago," said Lily noticing the surprised look on Marlene's face, "I think it belonged to someone named Gucci."

"You see a lot of lemurs think it's a worthless talent to be interested in costumes and sewing, but I actually kind of like it," explained Lily as she found a tape measure and motioned Marlene to stand on a rock, "so what kind of theme do you want for your outfit?"

"Well," began Marlene as Lily took her measurements; noticing that the girl seemed more open and confident in her own environment, "in a word I want my costume to be FUN!"

All throughout the day Lily labored tirelessly over the costumes; only stopping to eat and drink. Marlene had objected when Lily had given up her mattress for the night, but Lily had stated that she would never be able to sleep until the costumes were finished. Marlene hadn't been allowed to see Julien's outfit, but she figured it was better to wait until the contest. The next morning saw the entire kingdom (aside from Julien) up and working on numerous cleaning and food preparing jobs for the party. More than once Skipper had to issue out some slaps and push-ups whenever he caught one of his teammates "shirking".

SLAP! "Private the last thing you need is more coconut!"

SLAP! "Kowalski give me 100 for voodoo-leaf gathering!"

"It's not voodoo it's," SLAP! "I don't want to hear it, and where the heck is," BOOM! "RICO!" All in all, it was a rather interesting day.

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><p>Once the sun began to set, the entire kingdom underwent a transformation. There were glowing flowers hanging from the trees in lots of warm colors, and the whole floor had been cleared so the performers could have plenty of room. Food tables were off to the sides for the spectators, and every lemur young and old was waiting for the show. The penguins were doing their perimeter checks with Lucas and Mort was staring longingly at a picture he had drawn of Julien's feet (since he had been distanced from the king all day). Finally, a hush fell over the crowd as Maurice stood up front to start the show.<p>

"Ladies and Gentlemen lend me your ears," shouted Maurice actually looking excited, "it's time to start the Royal Music Competition!" There was a roar of applause as Skipper allowed his team to voice their happiness. "Remember to cast your vote after the show," he pointed to the back to a large fruit (and fish) piled table, "and now let's welcome our players."

"First; the leader of lemurs, the lord of the ringtails, the master of mamba, and the official party king in every land traveled; our very own King Julien XIII!" at this the leaf curtains drew back to reveal the party master himself fluttering his palm fans and striking huge poses. He was dressed in loose pants that rose slightly above his ankles in a camouflage pattern of orange, green and brown; his shirt was white and sleeveless with "KJ" set in what looked like gold fish scales on the front; he wore sneaker-style green and brown shoes; and his crown was just like the one he wore for "Cirque du So-great", except it had more peacock feathers and a starfish in the middle. In a word, his outfit was definitely meant to draw attention, as Julien waved and blew kisses to the cheering lemurs. Skipper just rolled his eyes as he stopped Rico from aiming a grenade at the showy display.

"And now," continued Maurice as the applause finally died down, "we present our challenger from abroad. Originally from the sunny land of California before coming to New York, she may be small but her spirit certainly knows no boundaries, I give you…the Amazing Marlene the Otter!" At this something was thrown into the nearby pool, causing clouds of mist to rise before the sound of something spinning could be heard. Then, spinning out of the mist before landing carefully on the ground, appeared Marlene. She was dressed in a white skirt with flower petal ruffles at the bottom that twirled out when she spun; her shirt was red and white striped with small, ruffled blue sleeves; she was wearing blue ballet shoes with matching ribbons and white stars on the front; and a red, white, and blue hat styled exactly like her jester one. The crowd had gasped in surprise at her display, but not like Julien. He had never seen her wear any kind of human outfit before and he honestly loved how it looked on her. While the effect was not as over the top as his had been, her outfit still gave off a sense of color and fun. He almost forgot about the contest as the crowd started cheering excitedly for the now smiling otter. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Julien slowly approached Marlene as the two made their way to the center.

"Ready to be beating Marlene?" he smirked as he crossed his arms.

"Ready to admit I'm your equal?" she smirked back imitating his crossed arms.

After a brief paw shake the two mammals stepped back as Maurice gave the final announcement, "May the best party mammal win!" before nodding to Kowalski and Rico at the DJ booth. A second later, the contest began!

The first part was the dance-off and Julien instantly began pulling out every dancing stop you could think of. Most of the songs he danced to varied from hip-hop to more tribal pieces, allowing him to incorporate lots of flashy poses and breakdancing. He wowed the crowd with his speed and agility, even using his swinging vines as part of the act! Overall, it was clear that he could dance forever if he chose to, for he had all the energy he needed.

Being no stranger to Julien's parties, Marlene still found herself impressed by Julien's energy and Lily's costume work. Who knew that Julien would look so swag! Realizing that Julien's routine was over as he paused to take in the clapping, Marlene allowed her mind to calm down before striking out. Although she was no party master, Marlene used all her concentration to try to match Julien. Her dancing style was like a combination of informal ballet and gymnastics. It was as if she was doing a land version of her swimming routines! The music for her performance featured lots of pop and Spanish-style pieces that showed her ability to keep up acrobatically with Julien. Although she couldn't swing on vines, Marlene had impressed Julien by skipping and flipping over the huge lily pads on the pond; even skimming her hands and feet in the water for effect. Overall, her style was playful with a hint of class.

After thundering applause for Marlene (and a few whistles from the penguins), Maurice announced the sing-off. The songs played were in the same style as the dance pieces, and never had anyone seen the likes of this pair. Julien's unwavering speed showed in his singing as he rapped in his famous accent; surprising everyone when he sang "I like to Move it" in perfect Malagasy. Sending a smirk as if to say "dare accepted," Marlene launched into a variety of songs from mostly female artists; singing slightly higher than normal, and equaling Julien with a Spanish version of his song. The crowd was really getting pumped now. For never had they seen anyone dance and sing on Julien's level. Now it was time for the final level.

This time, they had to not only do both at the same time, but also perform together! The two competitors were starting to look kind of nervous by this point (since they hadn't really performed together since the "Cirque du So-great" incident), but they stood patiently as the final level started. Even though they were not used to performing together, when they danced it was as if they had always been dance partners! When Julien would do a flip, the Marlene would copy it perfectly, and if Marlene did a midair pirouette, Julien would be there to balance her up on his paws. By this time Skipper and the penguins had forgotten about patrol duty as the action got more and more intense. Private nearly lost the cake in his mouth as he gaped at the duo.

"_Doesn't matter when,_" sang Julien, "_it's always a good time then,_"

"_Doesn't matter where,_" sang Marlene, "_it's always a good time there,_"

"_Doesn't matter when,_" they sang together, "_it's always a good time then._"

And with a final round of singing and twirling, Julien quickly dropped Marlene into a dip as fireworks from Rico were erupted from every spot in the clearing. Julien and Marlene could barely think as cheers erupted around them. Panting slightly, the two did nothing but stare at each other as if they were studying each other's faces. They both grinned as they still held on to each other; awaiting the votes from the audience.

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><p><em>Phew! I finally got that scene out of my head! Did you know I had that scene playing out for like three years? Anyway, I hope everyone's doing well, and I look forward to your reviews. Happy day before Halloween!<em>


	6. Chapter 6: VIO

_Hey guys! Snow has finally arrived in the Midwest and I have Frozen on the brain (Elsa rules!). Anyway, we're going into the more romantic aspects of the story, and yes, you've probably guessed which couple. But don't stop reading now; there will also be a lot more drama._

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><p>Chapter 6: V.I.O.<p>

As the deafening applause and fireworks finally died down, Julien seemed to snap back to reality, because he ending up shaking his head and nearly dropping Marlene. Marlene luckily had used her hands to keep from falling on her face, but she also seemed to come out of a trance and stand at attention for the voting. The lemurs and the penguins cast their voting ballots, and finally, Mort jumped up onto the stage to hand the ballots to Maurice.

"Ladies and gentlemen here we go, the results have come in and what a fantastic performance," announced Maurice as he pulled out one particular card, "and according to the audience, the results say thaaaaaaat….." there was a pause as the DJ booth played a drum roll.

"King Julien and Marlene are equals!" there was a short gasping pause, before another round of roaring applause broke out, followed by several more fireworks from a hyper-happy Rico. The other penguins were cheering and whistling, and Marlene was waving and bowing in gratitude. Julien at the announcement had been in a state of shock. Marlene was his musical equal?! After impulsively hugging Maurice (making the poor aye-aye toss the ballots everywhere) Marlene strolled over to the still shocked king with a triumphant smirk.

"So Julien," she started, "you ready to pay up?"

Suddenly realizing she was there, the lemur stammered, "Huh? Oh uh, yes uh…..just be giving me a moment." Stepping forward where Maurice was gathering the ballots, Julien nervously glanced to the sides and cleared his throat as the lemurs shifted their eyes forward.

"My loyal subjects," he began, "I would like to be announcing that Marlene….is um," he looked in the otter's direction as she gave him the look to go on, "that Marlene is the greatest, and most musical mammal in the whole of Madagascar and the world!" he suddenly shouted as a smile appeared on his face. There was more applause as Marlene looked mildly surprised. She knew that he would be reluctant to make such a humiliating speech, so why did he look happy?

Realizing that he was forgetting someone, Marlene loudly cleared her throat as Julien turned her direction. "Oh, and I would also like to be thanking Lily for her brilliant costuming," added Julien as Marlene motioned Lily to come up on stage. The shy lemur gave a wave as she stood next to Marlene; smiling a bit at being recognized by the king.

"Now, as rewarding for your brilliant performance," said Julien turning to face Marlene directly, "I will be making you a V.I.O."

"A what?"

"A Very Important Otter," explained Julien as Maurice stood by, "you will be staying as my most personal guest."

"Your guest?" now the otter was really confused. Julien looked way too happy to have just tied with her. "What does that even mean?"

"It means you get to stay in the palace," said Maurice looking just as surprised.

"Yes, I will be letting you sleep in my tree palace, eat my food, and roam my kingdom," said a now excited Julien.

"Wait a minute Ringtail," piped up Skipper who had joined the mammals after the show, "how come you never let us stay with you when we lived with the hippies?"

"Because the freaks were to be too big and you did not like me," said Julien simply.

"Can we at least come see it and maybe visit?" asked Private, who was trying to talk to Lily.

"That is up to the otter. Now your king is very tired and in need of a rest. Come Lily," said Julien as he started to walk away, "we must show our guests my home."

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><p>After gathering up the other penguins, the group made its way through the jungle as they followed Julien. The penguins used this opportunity to congratulate Marlene on her success with Skipper whispering, "Ringtail will have to watch out for you at his next party." They continued on through the night, (thankfully guided by Maurice holding a lantern) and ten minutes later came to another clearing. And everyone's jaw dropped at what they saw! It was a tree, like the one that had the plane perched on it, except this tree was glowing. Tiny windows were carved into the trunk, and large circular platforms were perched on the branches. On each platform was a small bamboo bungalow, and there were numerous vines hanging from them.<p>

"Welcome to the Lemur kingdom palace!" shouted Julien as the group stopped staring for a moment, "I know you are wanting to stare in awesomeness, but you will have to be doing it tomorrow. Lily!" the girl lemur came forward and gave a slight nod. "Yes King Julien?"

"You are to be serving Marlene during her staying and you will be listening to whatever she is telling you," ordered the king, "and you are to be taking her to the Princess Room!"

"The Princess Room?!" shouted a shocked Lily and Maurice, "But your highness, that's…"

"Do not be questioning me Maurice," interrupted Julien as he held up a finger, "anyways, be sleeping well Marlene, you are deserving of it," said the lemur as he jumped up on one of the vines and started climbing up. They watched him climb to the very leafy top of the tree until Maurice finally decided to speak up.

"Well, right this way Marlene."

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><p>"I still can't believe I actually won!" exclaimed Marlene as she continued to replay the events of that night. She had followed Maurice and Lily through a hole at the bottom of the tree and found a wooden circular stairway in the middle of the room.<p>

"Well I can't believe he actually followed through with his deal!" said Maurice as they made their way up the stairs. "Normally, us lemurs use the vines to get to the top, but these stairs work just as well," he explained as they finally stopped in front of a simple wooden screen.

"So what's so special about this Princess Room besides the name?" asked Marlene, "I mean, you did seem pretty shocked back there."

"The two lemurs exchanged glances before Lily finally spoke up, "In the past Miss Marlene, the Princess Room was only occupied by the Crown Princess. But the last Crown Princess we ever had was the mother of King Julien the First."

"So the current Julien is letting me sleep in an old room that is actually forbidden?" asked Marlene getting confused. Something must be really wrong with Julien if he was letting her break an ancient rule!

"Well, since Julien is giving you permission to stay here, I guess it's alright," said Maurice as they finally opened the screen and lit a nearby lantern.

It was about the same size as Lily and Lucas' house, except this place was more dusty than cluttered. There was a palm leaf hammock on the back wall that was three times wider than normal. It had a couple cushions and a thin blanket due to the hot weather. The walls were covered in stones and shells to show murals that Marlene was too tired to make out, and there were also a couple low tables and wilted flowers. Finally on the sides, there were open balconies that probably looked out over the clearing she had performed at earlier.

Because of how tired Marlene was, Lily decided to just shake out the hammock and clean the rest of the room another time. After thanking Lily and Maurice and bidding them goodnight, Marlene let out a huge sigh of relief before tossing her hat on the table. Even though the party had been fantastic, Marlene definitely wasn't one for frequent celebrating.

"I just hope I won't have to attend all his parties as part of my V.I.O. status," thought Marlene as she untied and kicked off her shoes. She still couldn't wrap her head around Julien's strange behavior, or the strange feelings that had come over her during the competition. It had felt odd being held by him, although he had been careful (up until the end). Settling down into the hammock, Marlene decided that sleep would be the best solution for her thoughts as she blew out her lantern. Finally, with the songs from the party playing in her mind, the V.I.O. dozed off.

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><p><em>Yah, I know her acronym sounds kind of weird, but it does make sense. I don't want to make any promises, but I might be posting another chapter this week if I'm lucky. I just hope everyone's doing well and staying safe if any of you have winter in your area. Talk to you later! <em>


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